Terminal connector and positioning means therefor



-April 13, V1943. K. CQBUGG 2,316,555

TERMINAL coNNEcToRs ANn,1=osITIoNING MEANS THEREFOR Filed oct. 31. 19402 sheets-sheet 1 INVENTOR.

.April 13, 1943. K. C, BUGG 2,316,555

TERMINAL CONNECTORS AND `POSITIONING MEANS THEREFOR Filed Oct. 31, 19402 Sheets-Sheet 2 I "br .i

g/g ',/7//////// 7//// n y Patented Apr. 13, 1943 CONNECTOR ANDPOSITIONING MEAN S THEREFOR TERMINAL OFFICE Kenly C. Bugg, Fort Wayne,Ind. Application october 31, 1940, serial No. 363,600 3 claims. (Cl.173-328) This invention pertains to connections, and more particularlyto electrical connections and the method of applying terminals and thelike in molded substances such as plastics;

In. some branches of electrical work it is necessary to make multipleconnections. For example, in radio and electric clock and registerconstruction, it is frequently desirable or necessary to have a numberof conductors electrically connected to a similar number of terminalmembers arranged on a terminal board or block. Electrical connectionsare then made to these terminals as by applying each wireto a terminaland soldering the' wire thereto, or each Wire may be provided with snapconnectors adapted to engage a complementary connector or terminal. Inthese instances, however, the Wires are individually handled at theterminal board.

It has been proposed to have connections such as socket connections ormale and female connections between terminal boards to permit readyassembly and disassembly, that is, the pair of terminal boards are eachhandled and moved to engagement when the male and female members areengaged, but the diinculty with such an assembly is that thescckets ormale and female members, where made in multiples, cannot be positionedaccurately enough in the rigid terminal boards in mass production toinsure that the proper spacing is held. Further, Where the individualWires are soldered to the terminals, or where snap fasteners are used,the material and labor is necessarily expensive, which, in highlycompetitive Work, is prohibitive.

Also, where a. number of wires are to be elecy trically connected to aterminal board, it is frequently desirable or necessary to install thesewires in a conduit. With present day practice, the wires must be drawnthrough the conduit and then applied to the terminal board individually,or have the fasteners or connectors placed there` on, after having beenbrought through the conduit. With the present invention it iscontemplated that the wires can be assembled and the contact meansplaced thereon before drawing the same through the conduit.

In applying terminals or other spaced members to a molded head eithertransfer dies must be' used, or they must be individually applied to themolded members after they are made. Each method is long and expensive,especially where plastics are used, and also there is the danger thataccuracy will be lost.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide terminalconnections which are inexpensive to make and readily can be accuratelymade within present day manufacturing toler- 811685.

Another object is to provide electrical connections for a terminal boardwhich can be readily applied to a conduit.

Still another object is to provide terminal boards having multipleterminals thereon which are mounted so as to be readily applied to aterminal Iboard having complementary terminals thereon.

Yet another object is to provide terminals resiliently connected so thata good mechanical electrical connection is attained.

A further object is to provide a method of molding terminals and thelike in plastics and the like, wherein no transfer dies need be used,and the terminals and the like are positioned by positive and/orresilient means.

With these and various other objects in View, the invention may consistof certain novel fea.- tures of construction and .operation as will be.more fully described and particularly pointed out in the speciiication,drawings and claims appended hereto.

in the drawings, which illustrate embodiments of the device and whereinlike reference characters are used to designate like parts- Figure l isa fragmentary top plan view of a terminal board .having one torna ci telthereon, resilient terminal board provided with complementary tenninalsengaging there With;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional elevation takensubstantially in the plane as indicated by the line 2 2 of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary top plan View of terminal boards similar tothose of Eigene i, having a modiiied form of terminal means therefor;

Figure i is an enlarged fragmentary sectional elevation takensubstantially in the plane as indicated by the line 4 4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional elevation through the femaleterminal of theresilient terminal board shown in Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a top plan v iew of the connector il` lustrated in Figure`5;

Figure 7 is a transverse end elevation oi? a modiiied form of terminalfor a termina board, and showing the complementary terminal inengagement therewith;

Figure 8 is a sectional elevation taken substantially at right angles tothe construction illustrated'in Figure 7 Figure 9 is a top plan view ofa connector for multiple terminals;

Figures 10 and 11 are fragmentary sectional elevations through modifiedforms of single terminal connections;

Figure 12 is a modification illustrating an elongated electricalconnector;

Figure 13 is a sectional elevation showing still another modified formof terminal connection olf the single wire type;

Figure 14 is an elevation partly in section of a form of terminal boardhaving female terminals applied thereto;

Figure l is an elevation partly in section of -terminal means adaptedfor -use with the terminal board shown in Figure 1,4 and showing themale terminal members molded in a resilient terminal board;

Figure 16 is a sectional elevation showing connections made between theterminal board illustrated in Figure 14 and the terminal meansillustrated in Figure 15;

Figure 17 is a perspective elevation of one form of female connectors;

Figure 18 is a perspective elevation of another modied form of femaleconnector;

Figure 19 is a modification illustrating a resilient assembly of a pairof single male terminals;

Figure 20 is a fragmentary top plan View of a form of terminal meansshowing the same applied to a molded or stamped sheet of rubber or otherresilient non-conductor;

Figure 21 is a sectional elevation of the con-` necting meansillustrated in Figure 20;

Figure 22 is a figure corresponding to Figure 20 showing the same instretched position or stretched for contact pressure;

female terminals 32 of the Well known eyelet or I erably provided withthe shoulders 68.

ferrule type, the terminals being fixed as by the shoulders 34 and 36.The upstanding connecting lugs 38 of the terminals.. may be electricallyconnected to the conductors 40. The molded resilient relatively thinrubber member or sheet 42 provides a terminal board or mounting for themale members 44, said male members consisting of the spaced arcuate orhook-shaped portions 46 and the channeled portions 48. Said male membersextend through suitable openings 50 provided in the member 42, and theends of said terminals are electrically connected to suitable conductors52. It will thus be seen that it is only necessary to insert the arcuatemembers 46 into the respective apertures in the female members 32,stretching the molded member 42 to permit the insertion, after whichthe'member 42 will cause the arcuate members to interlock with thefemale members, causing a perfect mechanical electrical connection;after which, if desired, welding or soldering may be applied between thev arcuate members 46 and the adjacent portions of the female members 32,

In the construction illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, a dii'erent form ofterminal member is shown as applied to the rigid terminal board54. Inthis construction the terminal members 56 disposed in spaced relationextend through said board, having the connecting lugs 68 thereon, theopposite side-of the board being provided with the hook-shaped contactmembers 60 disposed adjacent the shoulder 62. The resilient relativelythin supporting strip or sheet 64 is provided with the cylindricalfemale contact or terminal members 66 and the members 66 are preferablyapplied to the strap 64 as illustrated in Figures 5 and 6. In applyingthese members tothe strip 64, it will be seen that these members arepref- The members may then be inserted in the apertures provided in themember 64, the connection end or part to be shouldered assuming thedotted line position as illustrated at 1,0. The conductor 12 may then beWound around the cylindrical portion of the member 'l0 and connected toit as at 14. the connection being disposed adjacent the cut-out portion'|6 of the cylindrical portion 10. The dotted line portion i0 can thenbe flanged or shouldered to embrace the conductor 12, preferably beingshouldered sufficiently so that the connector is forced into the rubberor 'resilient member 64 as at 18, forming a tight connection. As before,the member 66 can be sprung on the member 60 and the member 64 willretain the same by contact pressure, after which solder may be applied.

It will be seen, therefore, that especially where the terminals on theresilient terminal board are disposed in rows they may befolded asbetween rows, or the board being a relatively thin resilient sheet maybe rolled so that it may be readily slipped through a conduit where theconductors must be conduited. It is then not necessary to first conduitthe conductors and then apply the terminals.

In the construction illustrated in Figures 'I and 8, the spacedterminals are mounted in the resilient block 82, said members beingprovided with the lugs 84 for electrical connection .y with suitableconductors, the opposite ends of said members being sloping as at 86 toprovide an entrance. The conductor 88 to be electrically connected tothe members 80 is preferably notched as at 90 to be received in andinterlocked with the slightly arcuate portions 92 of the members 80,thus forming an effective interlock after being sprung into position.

The terminal 94 (Figure 9) is providedwith the spaced cut-out portionsor notches 96 oppositely arranged in pairs whereby multiple connectionsmay be made by springing male members 44 such as illustrated in Figure2, into contact engagement in the notches 96. In other words, the spacedmale members 44 will engage in opposite notches and be resiliently urgedinto contact engagement with the terminal 94, and where multipleconnections are to be made other male members 44 may be sprung intoengagement in other opposite notches'96.

In the construction illustrated in Figure l0, the terminal board 98 isprovided with the female terminal |00, having the upstanding securinglug |02 thereon. The male terminal |04 may conveniently take the form ofthe elongated hook |06 adapted to interlock with the shoulder |08provided on the female terminal. The resilient block ||0 engages theopposite shoulder H2 of the female terminal |00 and engages the shoulder||4 of the male terminal |04 to retain the same in interlocked relationwith the female terminal.

trical connection.

In the construction illustrated in Figure 11, the terminal board ||6is'provided with female terminal ||8 having the soldering or securinglug thereon, said female member being shouldered at |22 and '|24. Themale terminal member consists essentially of the resilient block |26 andthe pair of hook members |28. 'I'he hook members are secured inthe blockand are provided with the securing lugs |30 thereon. said members |28extending upwardly and crossing, the ends thereof being provided withthe hook-shaped members |32 adapted to engage the top portion ofthefemale member. Of course the hooks may be of such shape as to embracethe shoulder |22.

In the constnuction illustrated in Figure l2,

the contact eye |34 is connected to one end of the resilient member |36,and the contact hook is secured at the other end thereof. The contacthook and the contact eye are electrically connected by means of theelectrical conductor |42. Thus, Where connection is made to a conductorthrough a contact eye and it is desired to form an electricalconnection, the member |36 may be elongated to permit such connectionthrough'the member |130.

In the construction shown in Figure 13, the terminal block Md isprovided with the female contact member |56 and the conductor |48 isconnected thereto through the aperture |50 provided therein, or asoldering lug may of course be provided. The contact lug |52 isapertured at |56 and is adapted to receive the hookshaped portion it ofthe male terminal |58 The conductor |60 is secured to the male member|58 and the rubber or resilient block |62 is disposed Within the openingitt provided in the vrnale member |58 whereby when the hook-shaped 4 end|56 is interlocked in the aperture |56, the resilient block retains atight mechanical elec- In the construction illustrated in Figure 14, theterminal board |66 is provided with the group of female connectingmembers |68, said members extending through the rigid terminal board andbeing shouldered as at |70 and being provided with the upstandingconnecting lugs W2 for the electrical conductors iid. These members mayalso take the shape as illustrated in Figure 18 in which the terminalboard H6 is notched or apertured as at |78 and the substantiallyU-shaped .terminal members |80 applied therein. Said `members |86 areprovided with the upstanding lugs |82 for connectionto the conductorsidd.

In the form of relatively thin resilient terminal board or sheet shownin Figure l5, the arcuate male members lt@ are arranged in pairs facingeach other and extending into and being molded in the strip i 3a ofrubberor other resilient insulating material. Within said strip |88,said members may be flanged as at it@ and connected to the conductors|92. Between pairs of said membersi there is provided a. reduced portion|96, or said portion may be otherwise made more resilient than theportion in-vwhich the members |86 are imbedded. The purpose of providingthis reduced portion between. pairs of terminals is illustrated inFigure 16, Where the pmrs of members |86 are received in the openings ofthe members |88 or are placed in contact with the female orcomplementary terminal members.

A condition may arise where the spacing between said pairs does notvcorrespond to the spacing between the pairs of terminals on theterminal the board. Thus the reduced portion |94 tviu don'- gate topermit the proper connection to be made with the terminals of the rigidterminal board.

Of course, enough resilience occurs between the members of the pairs ofmembers |86 to permit their proper application as shown at |95.

In the construction shown in Figure 19, a. pair of substantiallyZ-shaped contact members |96 are shown electrically connected throughthe lugs |98 to the conductors 200 and said members are connectedtogether by means of the rubber strip 202 for thesame purpose as above fdescribed.

In the constructions illustrated in Figures 20 to 23 inclusive,the rigidterminal board 204, as before, is provided with the female terminals 206extending through said rigid board and being shouldered as at 208 and2|0. said members 206 being-provided with the iupstanding soldering lugs2| 2 for electrical connection to suitable conductors. The resilientstrip 2|4 for the male terminals isprovided with cut-out portions 2|6shown in an exaggerated manner in Figure 20 Ithrough which thesubstantially hooked or arcuate pairs of male members 2|8 are extended.Thefopposite sides of the male members are provided with the lugs 220which are adapted to be connected to the electrical conductors 222. Whenthe male members 2|8 are sprungr into piace, as illustrated in yFigure23, it will be seen that the portion 22d of the member 2|4, between theterminals 2| t of adjacent pairs of terminals will elongate, and thecut-out portions 2|@ will likewise change shape as shown at 226 inFigure 22. In some instances buckling will occur between adjacent pairs,as at 228, but this will' not affect the electrical connection as theresilient board 2id will be stretched by contact pressure to eect theproper electrical connection.

It is to be understood that I do not wish to be limited by the exactembodiments of the device shown, which are merely by way of illustrationand not limitation as various and other forms of the device will ofcourse be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing fromthe spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

I claim:

l. ln combination, a substantially rigid insu;- lating member forming aterminal board, pairs of spaced terminals xed thereto, a relativelythin, resilient insulating sheet forming a, resilient terminal board,pairs oi' terminals complementary to said irst named terminals carriedby said resilient terminal board and adapted to have interlockingengagement with the corresponding of said .'drst named terminals,engagement of the nrst pair of terminals on said rigid terminal board bythe nrst pair of terminals on said resilient terminal board causng'theother terminals to -be properly located for respective engagement, andconductors connected to each of said terminals, the terminals of eachpair of said second named terminals being normally spaced apart adistance slightly less than the spacing of the terminals of said firstnamed pairs which are engageable -by the terminals of said second namedpairs of terminals, whereby when said second named terminals engage thecorrespending of said iirst named terminals the second named-terminalsare resiliently held in engagement with' the corresponding rst namedterminals by the iiexible insulating sheet which is under tensionbetween the terminals of each pair carried thereby to thereby cause atight electrical connection between engaging terminals.

2. In combination, a substantially rigid insulating member forming aterminal board, pairs of spaced terminals xed thereto, a relativelythin, resilient insulating sheet forming a resilient terminal board,pairs of terminals complementary to said rst named terminals carried bysaid resilient terminal board and adapted to have interlockingengagement with the corresponding of said rst named terminals,engagement of the first pair of terminals on said rigid terminal boardby the rst pair of terminals on said resilient terminal board causingthe other terminals to be properly located for respective engagement,conductors connected to each of said terminals, the terminals of eachpair of said second named terminals being normally spaced apart adistance slightly less than` the spacing of the terminals of said firstnamed pairs which are engageable by the terminals of said second namedpairs of terminals, whereby when said a second named terminals engagethe corresponding of said iirst named terminals the second namedterminals are resiliently held in engagement with the corresponding rstnamed terminals by the flexible insulating sheet which is under tensionbetween the terminals of each pair carried thereby to thereby cause atight electrical connection between engaging terminals,

said insulating sheet having a reduced portion between adjacent pairs ofterminals for the purpose set forth. e

3. In combination, a substantially rigid insulating member forming aterminal board, pairs interlocking engagement with the corresponding ofsaid rst named terminals, engagement of the iirst pair of terminals onsaid rigid terminal board by the rst pair of terminals on said resilientterminal board causing the other terminals to be properly located forrespective engagement, conductors connected to each of said terminals,the terminals of each pair of said second named terminals being normallyspaced apart a distance slightly less than the spacing of theterminalsofsaid rst named pairs which are engageable by the terminals of saidsecond named pairs of terminals, whereby when said second namedterminals'engage the corresponding of said rst named terminals thesecond named terminals are resiliently held in engagement with thecorresponding rst named terminals by the flexible insulating sheet whichis under tension between the terminals of each pair carried thereby tothereby cause a tight electrical connection between engaging terminals,said insulating sheet being of' such flexibility as to be adapted to bedisposed in a relatively small, narrow shape to permit said conductorsbeing inserted in a conduit after they have been secured to theirrespective terminals.

KENLY C. BUGG.

